Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-10-14
with his helmet on his he'd
and his sabir on his thy
me soler mounts his gallant steed
to GOnker OR To 4 ,,o
A War "Reminiscences.

ger"
A War "Reminiscences.
"a man could 90 through twenty
battles on quarter the cold nerve that
Andy Hlckenlooper had to use in one
little episode with Mcpherson down on
the Tennessee River, when there wasn't
an enemy in sight, said Captain jim
Harper. zone evening about an hour
before shutdown, Colonel Hickenlooper
was called to Mop tent and in
formed that it was necessary for the
entire army of thirty thousand men to
be across the river and after the J ohm.
MES by daylight next morning.
But General said ANDY, there
isn't stick Of timber within forty miles
big enough to carry an empty caisson,
and the wagons with the pontoons are
ten miles back
E" Can't help that replied McPher-
son curtly. The bridge must be built
and the army on the move before four
o'clock tomorrow morning. Good
afternoon, Colonel Hickenlooper.'
:" left the tent and went down to
the river said General Hickenlooper,
in telling this experience not long ago,
and L don't suppose man could be
in greater misery, mentally, than I
was. l walked up and down the bank
for al hour, sizing up the situation. I
knew that, as chief of the engineer
corps, l was expected to solve the prob
lem some way, and that to fail then was
to lose all standing, professionally, not
only for the war but probably for all
the future. I think must have sweat
blood, if such thing were possible.
Finally, wandered nearly mile up
the bank, and there, half mile back,
L came across an old gin piled full of
cotton. I guess there must have been
two thousand or three thousand bales.
My sharpened wits caught on right
away. Why not make bridge of the
cotton, using the boards for aroadway?"
{" In thirty minutes I had large
detail of men on the ground. and the
nights work commenced. We sunk the
bales with big stones, laying two tiers
of four bales each clear across the
river, holding them in place by two big
cables stretched across on the lower
side. The boards of the gin made
tolerable roadway, but at its best it was
an awful scay job. The top bales were
only about three inches out of the wa
ter, and wasn't at all sure the cables
would stand the strain. But at three
o'clock I walked up to McPherson's
tent and routed him out of bed. How
we'll I remember him lying there on
his elbow, holding up match to see
my face as ! approached his bunk.
f10 hr11 51,
well, Colonel had passed before the
match went out, and before 1 had
walked three rods from headquarters
boots and saddles had been sounded
and the camp was a bedlam.
"'I crossed the bridge and stood at
the edge OF the water, expecting and
dreading to see the cables part under
the terrific strain. Why, those cotton
bales settled down under the weight OF
the heavy guns until the water ran into
the mouths of the cannon, but she stooG
the test, and at II 30 the last Wagon
had made safe passage and we signaled
ahead to Mop GAIL over" In
little while an orderly came galloping
back to summon me to Mop herson,
who was five miles ahead by this time.
When rode up to my autocratic supe-
rior he saluted and said: "That was
we'll done, Colonel. Now you go back
and cut the bridge loose, and I'll tele-
graph the gunboats down on the Mis-
sissippi to pick up the cotton for you
and your assistant engineer" I thought
that was d irst-class reward, and of
course performed my part Of the work,
concluded Hickenlooper.'
"What did the cotton bring him, Mr..
Harper?"
"Not red cent. The gunboats
picked UP the cotton all right, but Andy
never saw any of the money for it. 1t
looks hard to tell man to make some
thing out OF nothing, but that's war.
It's only in active field service that
fellow learns the full meaning Of the
proverb, Necessity knows no law AS
an engineer and an ex-soldier, [ tell
you I'd rather be twenty times under
fire than pass through one such snap
as that which induced General Hicken-
Topper to plan and construct bridge
strong enough to carry six-mule wagons,
loaded with subsistence and ammuni-
ton, out Of cotton bales, over swift
stream, in less than twelve hours"